Vodafone shuts Wayfinder as navigation goes free
After 16 months, carrier abandons own location platform development
Published: 14 March, 2010
READ MORE: Vodafone | Location
Mobile navigation companies are falling like skittles following Nokia's decision to make its Ovi Maps offering free, to go head-on with Google. Vodafone has closed Wayfinder, the Swedish location software firm it acquired only just over a year ago for SEK239m ($33m).
The giant cellco acquired Wayfinder in December 2008 as part of a stepped-up push into the area seen as the key growth driver for operator services, 'SoLo' (social location). However, the economics of that market have already changed completely, and the carrier brands are under pressure from the free offerings of Nokia and Google. Location and mapping will remain highly strategic to Vodafone, which has a far-reaching deal with Tele Atlas (part of TomTom and the main source of digital maps apart from Nokia/Navteq). But the opportunities to charge directly for such services are shrinking.
Other operators are likely to find their navigation revenues drying up too. Verizon Wireless, for instance, still charges $3 a day or $10 a month for GPS services, but launched its flagship Motorola Droid smartphone with Google's free navigation suite. Vodafone will now end the attempt to develop its own new suite of location aware services - the main reason to purchase Wayfinder - and look to partner with third parties for free location offerings instead.
Currently, Wayfinder has about 95 employees in Sweden, Romania and the UK, most of whom will be laid off. This is a far cry from the vision outlined by Vodafone in 2008, when it acquired several web services start-ups and looked to incorporate their wares into a carrier branded, location aware social network with GPS-enabled apps ranging from navigation to fitness/running to travel guides.
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